Hawai’i routs East Tennessee State on second day of Diamond Head

The Hawai’i basketball team got back on the nice list with a resounding 84-61 victory over East Tennessee State on the second day of the Hawaiian Airlines Diamond Head Classic on Sunday evening at the Stan Sheriff Center.

The Warriors controlled the game from start to finish, and will play for fifth place in the eight-team tournament on Christmas Day. Hawai’i will face Mississippi for fifth place at 11:30 a.m. on Tuesday.

10 Comments

Gib, good change up…Jawato and Roop started and played well..matchups, against ETSU, it worked well, now, Roop has to continue to get stronger, and settle down, and hit FT’s, he will help as a shooting PG..Jace, the physical facillitator, and Gee Jefferson the D stopper..

Loved tonight’s starting lineup. Best chemistry I’ve seen this year on the floor.

Vander, Fotu, Standhardinger, Jawato and Clair starting, with Spearman as a high energy 6th man is a very nice rotation.

I know UH fans have been calling for Roop and Jawato and now I see why. I LOVE what Jawato and Spearman bring to the game. They are fearless shooters and aggressive on offense. Jawato still needs to learn defense but he’ll eventually get it with more playing time. Is it just me or is Jawato taller than his roster height?

Hauns finally got benched, something I’ve been calling for in the past few weeks and it paid off for Gib.

I think Gib finally found the right lineup going forward. I though Tavita was going to be better than what he’s done so far. He’s a slightly taller version of Miah Orstrowski, but better defensively and a better passer. He’s good with the ball, but makes poor decisions on some passes and he’s a complete non-threat on offense.

When Tavita is playing, UH really struggles vs zone defenses because the defense is only defending 4 players. Tavita is a terrible shooter and doesn’t attack the rim. That makes it very tough for everybody else to score vs the zone. Tavita is better than Clair defensively, but Clair forces teams to defend him, which helps everybody else.

If Vander can improve vs double teams, it will be a huge plus for UH. Everybody is gameplanning vs Vander nowadays and he needs to make a few adjustments. First and foremost, Vander must swivel his head around when he catches the ball and recognize where the 2nd defender is coming from because teams (especially Big West teams) will aways double team Vander at the post. Second, Vander must be quicker with his move. He tends to catch, then gather himself, then makes his move. That takes too much time. Couple ways to fix that… 1st, Vander can make his move immediately after catching and take a shot before the double team arrives. 2nd, (Gib will probably make this adjustment), is to kick the ball back out and re-post. That will force the defense to reset and might force single coverage for him to take or the defense has to re-double team (also more telegraphed) and Vander should be able to locate the open teammate. 3rd, his teammates need to help him out by communicating where the double is coming from and then cut to the hoop.

Vander needs to watch some old Arvydas Sabonis (Portland Trailblazer) game footage and learn how to pass from the best passing bigman that ever played.

I really like what Gib’s freshmen bring. Fotu will be excellent once he gets a little stronger and more aggressive. Clair and Jawato look very good, just need experience. Very interested to see how Dressler turns out next season. Ozren should eventually fill the 3-point gunner role next year. Plus Shamberger gets eligible and looks like UH should have another athletic swingman next year.

clair has a bunch to work on but its the best for the future to give him the minutes now….nerves, inexperience, strength, decision making and possibly the wrong position is keeping him from playing to his full potential

roop’s upside is overall speed and quickness over Tavita, Roop far better shooter, quicker later movement, had some steals tonight, gets the offense in motion quicker, he needs to watch his carrying the ball ,refs will start calling it, a lot of players do it but it is a rule violation, something you need to learn to do properly is dribbling the ball. Practice Roop Practice, no more carrying the ball. And eat a lot , lift weights regularly. Come back in the summer 20lbs of muscle added.

Can’t believe the seniors would be liabilities this year… After an amazing offensive outburst during summer league (I know there wasn’t any defense), I thought Hauns would have the confidence to become UH’s main 3 point gunner. That sure hasn’t happened and doesn’t look like it will happen. Hauns’ minutes will continue to diminish due to poor shooting and not being able to hold his end defensively. The freshmen are starting to show some of their potential and are taking more minutes away from Hauns. I wouldn’t be surprised if Hauns gets cut to 10 min/game from now on.

Vander still doesn’t look 100% to me and Tavita has been a little disappointing. When both are on the floor, the offense bogs down because Tavita is a non-threat on offense and it allows his defender to double team Vander without fear of Tavita taking a shot or penetrating.

I would like to see Gib and his staff make a few adjustments with Vander at the post. Teams are clearly game-planning against Vander and they are double teaming early and often. I think Vander needs to recognize where the double is coming from and make faster decisions. As I mentioned earlier, Vander tends to take his time before he makes his move, but that also allows the double to close in and take away his space. I think Gib needs to have Vander catch at the post, then kickout and re-post. That forces the defense to reset and may free up single coverage, or the defense will have to send another double, but the 2nd time is usually more predicable and can be beaten… communication is the key.

Vander needs to spend some time watching game film and I think it’s a pretty easy adjustment once he sees it. Because Vander is the biggest, strongest center in the Big West, I can guarantee every Big West team will run doubles when Vander gets it at the post. If Vander can be more effective against double teams, UH should be one of the front runners for the Big West Title

I still stand by my pre-season prediction that UH finishes in the top 2 in conference and will definitely be in the mix for a ticket to the Big Dance.